Other webmail enthusiasts also wanting to try the beta version could request an invitation granting access. The new service was built from scratch and emphasized three main concepts of being "faster, simpler, and safer".

New versions of the beta service were rolled out over the development period, and by the end of the number of beta testers had reached the millions.

The Hotmail brand was planned to be phased-out when Microsoft announced that the new mail system would be called Windows Live Mail, but the developers soon backtracked after beta-testers were confused with the name change and preferred the already well-known Hotmail name, and decided on Windows Live Hotmail.

After a period of beta testing , it was officially released to new and existing users in the Netherlands on November 9, , as a pilot market.

Development of the beta was finished in April , Windows Live Hotmail was released to new registrations on May 7, , as the million MSN Hotmail accounts worldwide gained access to the new system.

The old MSN Hotmail interface was accessible only by users who registered before the Windows Live Hotmail release date and had not chosen to update to the new service.

The roll-out to all existing users was completed in October In it was announced that the service would be updated with focus on improving the speed, increasing the storage space, better user experience and usability features, and that sign-in and email access speeds would be up to 70 percent faster.

As a result of user feedback, Hotmail was updated so that scrolling works for users who have the reading pane turned off. Support for Firefox in the upgraded Windows Live Hotmail took a few months to complete.

By , support for Google Chrome was still incomplete, prompting the Chrome developers to temporarily ship a browser that employed user agent spoofing when making requests to the Windows Live site.

As part of the update, Microsoft also added integrated capability for instant messaging with contacts on the Windows Live Messenger service.

The feature was the realization of a project that began as "Windows Live Web Messenger" in , a replacement for the outdated "MSN Web Messenger" service that was first introduced in August It was noted that the original "Windows Live Web Messenger" featured tabbed conversations in a "conversation workspace", however since its integration with Hotmail this has been removed.

These include images, maps and business listings. On May 18, , Microsoft unveiled the "Wave 4" update of Hotmail, which offered features such as 1-click filters, active views, inbox sweeping, and 10 GB space for photos, Microsoft Office documents, and attachments.

The new version began its gradual release to all Hotmail users on June 15, [37] and was completely rolled out on August 3, Throughout , Microsoft added several new features to Hotmail, such as aliases [40] and speed improvements.

Existing Hotmail customers could freely upgrade to the preview version of Outlook. According to Microsoft, the upgrade was deployed on April 3, ; the user kept their existing Hotmail accounts and received the option of having an outlook.

By May , Outlook. In May , Microsoft announced it would move the service over to what it described as an Office -based infrastructure. On August 8, , Microsoft launched a new opt-in beta toggle allowing users to test upcoming changes to the Outlook.

On October 30, , Microsoft announced that it would phase out its "Outlook. These benefits were subsequently made available to Office subscribers, and Microsoft will no longer accept new subscriptions to Outlook.

Similar to other major webmail services, Outlook. One example of a feature no longer present is the ability to create custom domain names.

Each code can only be used once, but one can be requested whenever needed. If a user is signing in on a public computer—such as at the library or school—using a single-use code helps keep account information secure.

The single-use code is sent to the user when requested during login. For example, any photo attachments can be previewed directly using Active View.

For example, users may view the YouTube video within Outlook. Other Active View features include tracking of real time shipping status from United States Postal Service and performing social networking actions on LinkedIn or other social networking sites directly from within the email message.

Calendar features a similar interface to desktop calendar applications such as Windows Calendar , and supports iCalendar files for users to import calendar entries into their calendars.

It uses Ajax technology which enables users to view, add and drag-and-drop calendar events from one date to another without reloading the page, and features daily, weekly, monthly and agenda view modes.

It also features a to-do list function for users to keep track of their tasks to be completed. Calendar events are stored online and can be viewed from any location.

Multiple calendars can be created and shared, allowing different levels of permissions for each user. Besides an address book , People also provides integrated services with social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Contacts are automatically updated in real-time, and the service allows for the removal of duplicated contact entries when imported with Profile.

Users can also set limits on what parts of their contact details can be seen by others. Tasks is task management component of Outlook.

Users can directly open attached Office documents within the web browser , and save them into their OneDrive. Users can also perform edits to any received Office documents, and directly reply to the sender with the edited version of the document.

Users can also save emails to OneNote. A preview version of Skype for Outlook. This feature allows users to make a Skype video call within Outlook.

Once a "sweep" is performed, the user may choose to configure Outlook. Quick views allow users to filter all emails in all folders by document attachments, photo attachments, flagged messages, or shipping updates.

One-click filters allow users to filter the inbox or specific folder based on whether or not the email message is unread, from the People service list, group mailing lists, or from a social networking website.

Categories appear under quick views for ease of access. Users can create additional, unique email addresses, called aliases , for their Microsoft account.

As of April 17, , users can sign in with any alias and create up to 10 aliases per year for a total of up to 10 addresses.

For a given account, all aliases uses the same inbox, contact list , and account settings—including password—as the primary address. Once an alias is set up, users can choose to have all email sent to that address go to the inbox, or to a different folder.

Microsoft has released client applications for Android and iOS , allowing users to access their inboxes and send new messages.

The apps were formerly known as Accompli, which was acquired by Microsoft in December , and were rebranded as Outlook Mobile in January Like many free webmail services, Hotmail was often used by spammers for illicit purposes such as junk or chain mailing and unwanted marketing, due to wide availability, service popularity, and ease of registration of new accounts.

The ability to associate Outlook. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the public webmail service.